China Medical News

Scientists in China have identified DNA markers specific to liver cancer, which is expected to greatly improve accuracy in diagnosis of one of the most common cancers in China.

Using the new technology, doctors can provide a diagnosis and prognosis to patients with liver cancer through simple blood tests. That could decrease the chances of a misdiagnosis by more than half, according to Xu Ruihua, director of the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, who has led the research.

After five years of research, involving over 100 researchers from different institutes, the scientists identified methylation in DNA circulating in the blood that is related to liver cancer. Methylation, like genetic mutation, is an abnormal genetic change that can cause cancer, Xu said.

Using samples of circulatory system DNA from a large group of 1,098 liver cancer patients and 835 healthy people for comparison, they constructed a diagnostic prediction model that showed high diagnostic specificity and sensitivity, Xu said in the study, which was published in Nature Materials, a science journal, on Oct 9.

Liver cancer is one of the most common cancers in China. The number of new cases reached 466,000 in 2015, and the cancer caused 422,000 deaths that year, according to the center, accounting for more than half of the world’s liver cancer cases and deaths. (Source: China Daily)